Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-10-21
70 PROHIBITION DEMOCRATS

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By this time you perfectly understand
the political situation. The Republican
nominations of Oct. Sth have made II
plain to you. There are sthree tickets IN
the field, Democratic. Republican am
Prohibition. You are asked to leave you
party in a great political struggle am
cast your vote for ticket which on all
sides is agreed to be hopeless of election.
There can be but one effect OF your vote
to aid, not your own candidates, Dut
those put in the field by your old political
enemies the Republican party. Inc lie
publican candidates are not known to be
friends of your cause, the platform they
were nominated on has no mention Of tn
thing in which you are interested. nj
public utterance OF either OF them has
been made which can lead you to believe
that they favor Prohibition, and one OF
the gentlemen who in their nomlnatlnt
convention endorsed and eulogized them.
was also one of tie gentlemen who leu
the forces which defeated your Local
Option struggle in Stanton. These ar
the nominees your vote will benefit, anG
not Messrs. Lyle and FultZ, who are not
in the race as far as chances OF election
are concerned. Your position in this
election is simply this: You only hurt the
Democratic party and don't benefit your
cause-lf you throw away your vote as
we have indicated. You only aid the
nominees of party which has given you
nothing, and jnjure the nominees OF a
party which has given you Local Option.
But you say you feel deeply the need OF
Prohibition and it involves your consci-
ence as we'll as your feelings. Very well
then; go about satisfying your conscience
by some material effort in behalf of Pro-
hlbition. The way to get ana enforce
Prohibition in Virginia is familiar
enough. Get your petitions to the legis-
lature, get day fixed for vote on a
Prohlbitory amendment to the constitu-
ton, then put your State organization to
work in marshalling your vote, and after
that, if you carry it, let the politicians OF
both parties know that only those who
will enforce it by proper legislation will
command your support. That is the com
mon sense, the most direct, and the speed.
lest road to Prohibition. 1t is a far nearer
route to success. if success lies before you
than waiting for political party to grow
from q seeding. We have read the figures
about the rapid growth Of the Prohibition
vote, but if you will examine that growth
you will find, we think, that it was made
apart from political issues. For instances
in Stanton when Local Prohibition was
the issue last April, it's friends polled $50
votes. and its opponents only escaped by
95 majority. But neither you nor any
other man thinks Messrs. Lyle and Fult1
can poll 533 votes, nor anything even ap
preaching it, The voters who went witt
you that day were for Prohibition, but moi
for neutrality-suspicious.
Neither the white nor colored element
that voted with you that day will be with
. you in November. The colored element,
as you know goes without saying, Will be
in the Republican ranks. There is some
thing they love better than Prohibition
the sight of the Republican party, tiseil
party, on top. Shall you, with nothing
practical to be gained for Prohibition; tht
progress of your cause not to be materially
showed forward a single step, be induced
to throw away your vote while the colore(
PrOhibitionist makes his count in the bal
lot box for Craig and Dunlap! We trust
not one OF you. We are sure not. Think O
it; give the matter Calm, deliberate thought
divest it of sentiment and apply to it thu
same reasoning that you would TO any
other important issue in life.